


Like and Subscribe

by Fool_Arcana



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Everyone's got a channel, Goro?? Not stabbing people irl, M/M, Mona's just a cat, Only in games, Slow Burn, The fandom is wild, Youtuber AU, gaming channels
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-21
Updated: 2018-01-29
Packaged: 2019-03-07 00:25:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13422792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fool_Arcana/pseuds/Fool_Arcana
Summary: Each member of the Phantom Thieves, a group of youtubers, runs their own big channels on the YouTube community. Akira Kurusu, the most prominent, keeps to the gaming with his sister and best friend while the others have channels ranging from educational, to beauty, to baking.A new member will be joining, shaking the channel's subscribers due to the level of popularity of him--one Goro Akechi, a multi-purpose creator known to be polite and serious, Tumblr's angel child--which is why the fandoms have decided that there was no one better to pair Goro with the least serious and rudest person they know.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I've missed you all, though I've been busy and I came up with a new idea. Enjoy, children.

   Goro Akechi was one of many famous online stars, preferring to keep his YouTube channel with educational and opinionated videos, specifically on crime and the like. Though, he did enjoy livestreams, which was why he had one on right now. “Yeah, I don’t think it’s particularly wrong to fight for something you believe in, but once it crosses the line and becomes a legal issue, that’s on you.”

   The chat buzzed with viewers, many sending messages of love with the occasional question that Goro would answer. “No, I don’t know any of Makoto’s friends, Haru doesn’t count because they’re together.” He smiled, trying to decipher words through the spam. “Uh, it seems that you are all freaking out over an... Akira, yes? Makoto’s mentioned him a few times, but I’ve never met him. Hey, maybe we can get him on the stream if you want.”

   He didn’t expect the chat to be flooded, words turning into blurs as his computer tried to keep up with it. Goro chuckled, texting Makoto about it just to satisfy the fans. “Alright, Makoto’s texting him now, we’ll see what happens... What an interesting username of his.”

   It had barely been two minutes when Akira requested to join the screen, the username exactly as Makoto had said— _TheJoker_. Girl accepted it, not expecting what he had seen. Makoto had mentioned that he was quiet, putting on a mask for the camera just like him, but she also told him that he was like his complete opposite. 

   The man on the screen looked like he hadn’t run a brush through his hair in years, the black curls fluffing up and falling over his glasses. His black pajamas were _covered_ in cat fur and the perpetrator of the fur was purring on his lap at that moment. “Good evening, Akechi-kun, Makoto told me you wanted me on.” His grin was wide, causing the chat to go even faster. “Wow, what an audience, I never have on this many people!”

   “Uh, yeah, I apologize if it’s overwhelming, I still struggle with it some—“

   “Hel-lo everyone! My name’s Akira, it’s so nice to see such wonderful comments! I hope I don’t disappoint!” Goro froze, he had been completely snubbed! Nobody ever snubbed Goro Akechi... ever! The pleasant boy was _fuming_ over it. He clenched his fists under the desk, watching the chat change subjects about their first encounter. Just breathe, Goro...

   “It’s nice to meet you, Kurusu-kun, Makoto has said many wonderful things,” Goro said, “I see that you have a cat too, what’s his name?”

   “First off, call me Akira. Second, this is Morgana!” He held up the cat, beaming. “I’m a little mad at Makoto; if she told me how cute you were, I’d be sending you tweets all the time!” The chat went wild, but Goro couldn’t bear to glance at it. His face burned, eyes blown wide at the grin on Akira’s face. He had something to say to Makoto, but Akira was closest. 

   “I wish I could say the same, but I’d prefer if you let me record with the cat, he may be more tolerable,” Goro deadpanned, arms crossed as he leaned back in the chair. Akira stopped grinning and the chat almost stopped for a moment before exploding again. They maintained eye contact and Goro could feel the tension between them. 

   “Ooh, good boy’s got some bite! This just got interesting—I’d like to meet you in person, Akechi-kun.” He leaned forward, elbows on the desk, head on his hand and a cocky smirk on his face. “But I can settle for a live stream, I like your face anyway, it’s a shame that your personality is a bit of a wreck.”

   Goro froze, nearly ending the stream right there, but he held his hand still. Akira was obviously enjoying this more than the fans—oh, Goro did _not_ want to see what they were going to post about after the stream. “Many consider my personality just fine, yours, however, is atrocious.”

   “Oh, but this is just Joker and they know it’s not my true self, but they believe in you, Akechi, what do you show?” He was still grinning, tilting his head like he knew he was right. Goro frowned at him, shutting his eyes and shaking his head. 

   “Not all of us are ashamed of our true selves, Kurusu.” Goro knew he was lying, but Akira didn’t need to know that. “Now, May we allow the fans to ask questions?”

   “Right, before we start, I’m going to say that you should all join the Thieves’ Guild, subscribe to me and, maybe, Akechi.”

   “Thanks, Kurusu,” Goro sighed, “It’s hard to keep up with the chat, so I’ll mostly read tweets.”

   “Lame,” Akira said, “I’ll do the chat, you do tweets.” Goro nodded, opening up the app as Akira zones in on the chat. “Uh, someone asked if you’d ever complete the ‘How to Get Away With...’ series.”

   “Yes, of course I will, it’s just a little delayed because of some personal reasons I won’t get into,” Goro smiled, “Kurusu, someone wishes to know if you’ll ever play the sims on your channel.”

   “Hell yeah! Wanna join me on it, Akechi?” 

   “Maybe,” Goro said, entertaining the idea for the public. As the stream went on, Akira sent him a message on Twitter—his phone number. Goro saved it, sending his own back before going back to answering questions. They were brewing a new hashtag, something that would merge a fandom. 

   The stream ended around midnight, leaving Goro in the silence of his bedroom-slash-studio. He was scrolling through Twitter, finding that the fans had posted screenshots and gifs of the stream with captions. 

   ‘Is it just me or is the sexual tension too thick for a chainsaw ???’

   Goro rolled his eyes, scrolling past it to find that Akira had liked a few of them. Of course that idiot would revel in the publicity. He’s just fueling the fire! Goro just moved to his other desk, picking up a sheet of paper and reading over it. Sae Niijima loves dumping her paperwork on him, always saying “You have to keep your mind sharp after leaving force!”

 ~~~

   “Guys!” Akira yelled into his mic, “I just streamed with Goro Akechi!” Everyone on the Skype call cringed, lowering the volume of their headphones. “We had a slight argument, but then we answered questions from his fans and I told them to join the Thieves’ Guild.”

   “Is he really as stuck-up as they say he is? ‘Cuz I hear he declines every collab request.” It was hard to understand Ryuji as he was stuffing his face with ramen at the moment, but everyone got used to it after a while of knowing him.

   “Not really, but he talked really fancy,” Akira said, “kind of like a prince but without friends.”

   “Ouch, Akira, I’m his friend,” Makoto said, “I think we should have him on the Thieves’ channel because of how terrible he is with games.” Ryuji almost choked, stuttering out a laugh through his coughs. 

   “Jesus, Ryuji, ever heard of covering the camera when you’re being gross?” Ann cringed, turning her eyes away until Ryuji stopped spewing noodles out. “But, I’m scrolling through Tumblr and it seems as if the stream has made people want more of you two together. Apparently, they’ve never seen Akechi-kun like that!”

   “He’s a lot less polite than he looks, guys,” Haru smiled, “He’s very vindictive too, so don’t piss him off _too_ much, Akira.” Said man laughed, not finding it hard to imagine Akechi being like that. 

   “I’ve looked up his pictures and he has invoked an emotion within me, though I do not know whether it is positive or negative—he radiates something... I wonder if I can—“

   “If you ask nicely, he may let you paint him,” Makoto smirked. Yusuke looked absolutely elated when she said that, quickly pulling out his phone to send a tweet to Akechi about it. “Oh, god, you actually asked him publicly.”

   “Am I not supposed to? It’d make a good video!”

   “He’d be naked, Yusuke!” Makoto frowned, trying to hide her obvious amusement. “Akira would contribute to half your views, though.” Akira said nothing. Yusuke ignored her, still inspecting the photos of Akechi and trying to sketch out body positions. 

   “He’d look good in an innocent position, though the glint in his eyes shows a corrupted view...”

   “He’s not even listening,” Makoto sighed, “Anyway, I need to go, I have a test tomorrow.” Everyone said their goodbyes, agreeing that it was time for bed before hanging up the Skype call. Akira didn’t feel tired, deciding to turn on his camera and film a video. 

   “Hey guys, it’s Akira, also known as Joker. This is kind of something I just decided to do, so I’ll play some dress up games like you’ve requested. I feel like I’ll enjoy. It’s almost three in the morning, but I’m wide awake, so don’t forget to like and subscribe!”


	2. Best Friends Are The Best

   Goro would never admit to looking up Akira’s channel, TheJoker, nor would he admit to finding one of Haru’s videos that he knew Akira was mentioned. ‘Best friend vs. Girlfriend’ was its title and the thumbnail was Haru sitting between Akira and Makoto. He recognized the room as Haru’s living room from the couch they were on. 

  _“Hello everyone, I’m so glad that you’ve joined us today. It’s been requested that I do a best friend versus girlfriend video, so I got Akira to help out as he is my best friend besides Goro-chan.”_

   Goro has declined when she asked, having been busy with packing for his trip to the states, but Haru always had a backup plan for everything. He watched it closely, inspecting Akira’s demeanor—he was chatting, grinning without malice unlike the livestream. “Now, who are you really, Kurusu..?”

   He watched to the end, returning to Akira’s channel and watching his videos—Akira was a gamer, usually playing with a little red headed girl with glasses. When they fought on the same team, they would win, but against each other, the girl would destroy Akira. She was loud, definitely enjoying herself when playing. 

   Futaba was her name and Goro found out that Akira had a younger sister. Her channel was like his in gaming, but she also had hacking tutorials and computer building. Each channel linked to a group channel called The Phantom Thieves of Hearts, a channel that Goro realized was with every single one of Akira’s close friends. He didn’t know whether to feel envious or not. 

   Goro went onto his Twitter, to send out his final tweet of the night when he noticed that all of his fans were tweeting him about what Akira had said. He felt his heart stop when he read it, overcome with an emotion he was all too familiar with, one that burned his face and made him want to hide. 

   ‘ _Akechi-kun, wanna come on the Phantom Thieves channel ? We could even vlog together. @GoroAkechi’_

   Everyone was freaking out over it, so Goro had no choice but to accept. The second he tweeted out an acceptance, he let himself drift off, hoping that his phone would be working the next day. 

~~~

   “Good morning everybody!” Akira beamed, “My name is Akira, also known as Joker, and it’s wonderful to see all of your smiling faces! Today, we are out here on the streets of Shibuya wreaking havoc.” He flipped the camera around to show Central Street before flipping it back to himself. “We’ll be heading to Big Bang where Ryuji is and then we’ll be making videos together all day!”

   The Phantom Thieves were mainly popular with a younger viewing demographic, teenagers and young adults, so the onlookers scoffed at Akira. Who wouldn’t? He entered Big Bang, filming a grinning Ryuji before cutting off the camera and taking a seat in the booth across from his best friend. 

   “Jeez, you took forever gettin’ here,” Ryuji said, “I ordered ya food.”

   “You’re the best best friend,” Akira beamed. Ryuji just rolled his eyes, not even trying to hide his grin. He seemed off today, bouncing his legs and tapping on the table. “Is something wrong, Ryuji?”

   His face turned red. “Uh, nothin’s wrong man, I’m just... kinda nervous here. Um! Me and Yusuke’re gonna check out the museum, but I dunno the first thing ‘bout art and shit.” He looked down at his fries, dragging one through his blob of ketchup. 

   “Well, I did take an art history class for a bit and I do have some old textbooks.” Akira watched Ryuji’s face light up, a grin spreading across his face. “Looks like the five hundred dollars won’t be wasted.”

   “Bro, I’m so effin’ glad that I didn’t go to college,” Ryuji said, “Oh, I saw your live with that Akechi guy—kind of a douche, if ya ask me.”

   “But he’s hot,” Akira pointed, taking a sip of his root beer, “Plus, Makoto says he’s a ‘good boy’ and everyone knows how those kinds of guys are.”

   “They got a lotta pent up anger and weird sex shit, yeah? Don’t go pervin’ out on some guy ya don’t even know.” Ryuji stared at Akira, his gaze was a poor attempt at being serious and intimidating—it would have worked if Akira hadn’t already seen Ryuji cry about killing a lady bug. 

   “Thief’s honor,” Akira grinned, “I’ll stick to trying to collab with him until he falls in love with me and we elope in Paris.”

   “I really hate you, dude.”

   The two left for the Thieves’ Mansion—a mansion that everyone pitched in to buy, heavily aided by Haru, though they tried to split it evenly. It was huge—twelve bedrooms and 15 bathrooms all for them to be close to each other every day. 

   Akira set up the camera, angling the lights on Ryuji. They were planning on filming a Q&A on their joint channel, the one they started back in high school. People loved the idea of the two being together despite the two being repulsed by the idea. 

   “Hel-lo there Little Thieves!” Akira grinned, “It’s time for a Q&A, requested by many of you. Let’s jump right in! Ryuji! What’s your ideal date?”

   Ryuji glanced up, thinking for a moment, “I’d like a quiet place where I can hear the other person talk.” Akira nodded, moving on the next question. 

   “This one’s for me. Joker, after the live show, how do you feel towards Akechi-kun?” He grinned up at the camera, “I’d love to have him on again! Goro-chan, if you’re watching, DM me on Twitter so we can collab. Guys, tweet him obsessively to get this for me.” Ryuji snickered next to him—The Phandom would definitely do it.

   “Dude, spammin’ the guy about it ain’t gonna do anythin’. Grow some balls and DM him.”

   “I’ll do it once you—“ The rest was censored with a loud beep. Akira wasn’t going to do that to Ryuji. By the way Ryuji’s face turned red and how he began swatting at Akira, the viewers could tell something was up. Of course, some theorized that it was something sexual while others just assumed it was something embarrassing. 

   “You’re the effin’ worst dude! I doubt you’d have the balls to even tweet Akechi. Come on, I dare you.”

   “Bet.” Akira began typing, holding his phone screen up to the camera. “Look, I DM’d him to collab with me and we’ll see if he responds.”

   “Maybe he blocked ya.”

   “He did not!”

   Akira went back to reading tweets, reading the questions and laughing about answers. Some had them rate the girls in the house, so Akira gave them all tens except Futaba, she got a zero. Soon after he said that, she came in from the kitchen on a penny board with her middle fingers up at him. 

   “Worst brother ever,” she yelled to the camera, “trust me ladies! He’d be the worst to live with!”

   “Shut your trap, Sakura.” She smacked him, skating into the kitchen to continue snacking on everything she could. Ryuji day there laughing, snap chatting the whole thing. The comments now included “Omg, ryuji is me”. There was a sharp jump cut of them back in their proper seats except Futaba was there with a pulled up chair. 

   “Futaba decided to join us because she wanted to choose the questions and call us out if we lie,” Akira said. The girl snickered, a grin spreading across her face. 

   “Number one! Why do you edit out Inari’s art rambled?” Futaba didn’t even let them speak before rolling her eyes, “Because they last ten minutes and he doesn’t stop until he’s done, of course! He has his own channel for that.”

~~~

   “Alright! Thank you all for joining us! Join the Thieves’ Guild today, so make sure to like and subscribe!”

   Akira cut off the camera, reminding himself to edit it later that night. His phone buzzed—a twitter notification. Akechi finally responded!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know there’s not a lot of Goro and Akira right now, but there will be. Slow burns are hard for me because I get impatient, but I’m going to do it. Also, I’m not gone for a month??? Wow.


	3. Kurusu, Kurusu...

    @GoroAkechi:  _‘Kurusu-kun, how many times will you ask me to join you? Your Thieves channel has my acceptance, so we’ll see how that goes before I agree to make a collaboration on our personal channels.’_

_@TheJoker: ‘That sounds great! We’ll actually be filming a gaming vid today at the Thieves’ Mansion so could you swing by around 4?’_

_@GoroAkechi: ‘That sounds like a good time. I’ll clear my schedule, though I must warn you that I am not very experienced in games._

_@TheJoker: ‘No worries. Just hope you’re on the same team as Futaba lmao.’_

_@TheJoker: ‘The address is xxxxxxxxxxx, see you there ;)’_

_@GoroAkechi: ‘Alright. Thank you for your time, Kurusu.’_

Goro sighed, putting his phone back on his bed before looking over at his homework. Sometimes, he hated having to quit the force to go to college and get credentials, but then he’d realize that it was important to get an education. That and he wanted to utilize that the SIU Director wanted to pay for his schooling to keep him on the team, so he went for it. As much as he hated the schooling, he wanted to be a detective—he was good at it, he felt useful.  

   It was two o’clock; he had time until having to go to the Thieves’ Mansion. How obnoxious. He finished editing his latest video, posting it within the hour before switching to his law books and homework. If he hadn’t been a detective for seven fucking years, he’d struggle, but he started when he was fifteen and now he has to learn what he already knows. 

   Back in high school, career day made him both feel like crying and feel prideful. All the other kids brought in their mothers, fathers, brothers, or sisters, but Goro brought himself. He would drag himself to the front of the room and present detective work, talking about cases and answering questions before shuffling back to his seat just to be stared at by the parents. He loathed that part. Goro always knew he wanted to work in law enforcement even for his own selfish reasons, but exams could take it all away. 

   YouTube was a bit of a distraction, but it offered him a chance to have a way to be himself publicly. Of course, he wasn’t allowed to be real, he was a celebrity after all. Goro sent a few emails, filed a little paperwork, and finally finished his homework before he realized that it was nearly time to meet Kurusu. 

   Goro finished packing his bag, grabbing his jacket and keys, and leaving his single bedroom apartment to head to a mansion. Was he jealous? Maybe a little bit. 

   Goro mistook the driveway for a street, almost slamming on the brakes multiple times to see the landscaping. His jealousy spiked up.  Kurusu waved at him from the bench in front of the door, a grin swept across his face. 

   “Akechi, I’m glad you could make it!” 

   Goro locked his car, forcing a polite smile on his face. “Good afternoon, Kurusu.” He eyed the other youtuber, noticing how casual he dressed—are those pajamas? Goro has put on a peacoat, a button-down, and pressed pants.

   He felt out of place the second he entered the Neon lit gaming room, LED lights glimmering from computers and strips of light. Sakura, Sakamoto, and Takamaki wore obvious pajamas, Haru and Makoto were dressed casually, but Kitagawa wore semi-formal clothes, so Goro felt slightly better. 

   “You can take the extra computer next to mine,” Kurusu said. Goro nodded, smiling up at the already recording camera above his computer. Kurusu took his own seat, adjusting his headphones before beaming at the camera. “Hel-lo our beautiful Thieves! Today we have a very, very, _very_ special guest to play some games with us! Say hello!”

   “Hi,” Goro smiled. He never spoke as loud as other youtubers when it came to filming. He liked being calm. 

   “Now, before we continue—join the Thieves’ Guild and like and subscribe!” He grinned at Goro before looking back at the camera. “Let’s continue on with playing GTA V with everyone!”

   Kurusu’s monitor was displayed first, his character currently in the middle of a shootout against the cops. Goro busied himself with trying to figure it the controls, driving into everything and swerving into crowds of people before hissing out a curse word. Goro concluded that he preferred being considered an elderly young adult. 

   Goro glanced over at Haru’s monitor, her character was in a police shootout with Sakamoto’s character. Akira was racing Takamaki and Makoto—Goro looked back at his screen, biting his lip and focusing on driving better. He didn’t know what do to! 

   Eventually, he was saved by the video ending. He, Kitagawa, and Kurusu were the only ones who logged off once the cameras stopped rolling. 

   The entrance hall was empty, having only a stray chair and skateboards gliding along the tiles. Goro stood with Kurusu, trying not to seem offputting. 


End file.
